hand painted signs

three years

2010-08-22T10:53:00.002+08:00

that's how long it has been since my last post in this blog. guess that's ok since i doubt if anyone read this particular blog anyway.

but now that i have some free time, i'll start posting here again. we've just finished with the computer animated movie that we've been working on and i'll take advantage of the free time.

hiatus

2007-12-28T09:50:00.000+08:00

been busy...still busy...arrrgh! still trying to keep the embers of my hope alive...

pay parking, 2007.

bearer of news

2007-08-24T14:49:00.000+08:00

the college of fine arts used to be located on the upper floors of UP main library. and for a long time, its' walls became the repository of artists' literary expression:

rain in june

seek not for a reason
a pointing finger to blame
for the end of the season
and the coming of rain

for though your summer dreams
be happy and gay
time is neither kind nor mean
the second hand won't stay

it is enough to remember
to close your eyes
on rainy nights and ponder
the days spent beneath
sunlight rays

to hoard each memory
of joyful laughter respite from pain
for the coming misery
these months of rain

twice in a day post!

2007-06-08T08:59:00.000+08:00

can't help it...awesome

Lip Dub - Flagpole Sitta by Harvey Danger from amandalynferri on Vimeo

saw this vid from the website of a former boss, eric alba!

right track

2007-06-08T07:47:00.000+08:00

You scored as Visual&PerformingArts,

You should strongly consider majoring (or minoring) in the Visual or Performing Arts (e.g., Art, Art Education, Art History, Ceramics, Culinary Arts, Dance, Drawing, Fashion Design, Film, Graphic Design, Interior Design, Marketing (advertising), Music, Music Education, Music Theory, Painting, Photography, Theatre).

It is possible that the best major for you is your 2nd, 3rd, or even 5th listed category, so be sure to consider ALL majors in your OTHER high scoring categories (below). You may score high in a category you didnt think you would--it is possible that a great major for you is something you once dismissed as not for you. The right major for you will be something 1) you love and enjoy and 2) are really great at

Consider adding a minor or double majoring to make yourself standout and to combine your interests. Please post your results in your myspace/blog/journal.

Visual&PerformingArts

94%

French/Spanish/OtherLanguage

88%

Religion/Theology

81%

English/Journalism/Comm

75%

Biology/Chemistry/Geology

63%

Nursing/AthleticTraining/Health

56%

Education/Counseling

56%

Psychology/Sociology

56%

History/Anthropology/LiberalArts

50%

Physics/Engineering/Computer

50%

Accounting/Finance/Marketing

38%

HR/BusinessManagement

31%

Mathematics/Statistics

19%

PoliticalScience/Philosophy

WHAT MAJOR IS RIGHT FOR YOU?
created with QuizFarm.com

21 grams

2007-06-07T09:37:00.000+08:00

if you happen to pass by a video store and see a vcd or even a dvd of the film '21 grams', buy it. mind you, it is not a comedy or an action film. but it features great performance from three great actors(ok, so one of them is an actress)and a story that will grip your thoughts long after the credits have stopped rolling. it was directed by alejandro gonzales inarritu and stars naomi watts, sean penn and benicio del toro.

on a lighter note: some of us went to intramuros a couple of weeks ago. had fun revisiting the places that my teachers brought us during my art and photography classes.

flower, casa de manila, 2007.

after summer

2007-05-31T13:53:00.000+08:00

well it's the tail end of summer. morning sunlight has taken this milky quality that was absent in the peak of the summer season. done taking pictures for a friend's wedding. the lecture part of the photography class is likewise over. i sit here in front of the computer waiting for God knows what...

red chair, carmel house, 2007

cryptic

2007-05-26T01:50:00.000+08:00

something
is about to give
i can feel it coming
i think i know what it means
- kite, U2

shopping carts, 2007.

parking area view, 2007

past revisited

2007-04-26T08:46:00.000+08:00

in a moment of quiet desperation, i decided to do what i've thought of doing for some time. last thursday i went back to UP los banos for a visit.

there seems to be no more BLTB buses in alabang so i decided to take the Green Star bus. did you know that they print bus tickets on the fly using PDAs? during my time it was just the usual pre-printed tickets and paper punch. then again, i'll admit that that was some time ago.

mercury drug, college crossing,2007. the only landmark i'm familiar with. the interior has changed though. the gas station where i used to buy chocolate flavored carabao milk is gone. along with the sleazy carenderia where we had lunch during my enrollment as a freshman.

bigmak, college crossing, 2007. located across from jollibee. jollibee now occupies the former site of the gas station. and some distance from jollibee is a mall ( what else? ) and a church.

church windows, college crossing, 2007.this is the church located across the mall. on my way to the campus itself, i think i passed by three big commercial establishments.

first thing that came to my mind while taking note of all these changes was the question of whether i would have been able to study with all these distractions.he,he.

UPLB monument, los banos, 2007. since it was first established as an agricultural college, the symbol of the UPLB campus is this farmer and carabao. this is the monument that will greet you as you enter the college grounds

carabao heads, UPLB monument, 2007. we used to call one of our blockmates 'moo' because his hair resembles the hairdo of these carabaos.

but of course the oblation is still present.

oblation, UPLB, 2007. during my stay in los banos, this oblation wore a collar that student militants made to symbolize the US control of the philippine government. at the background left of the picture is the math building. scene of many agonizing math and chemistry exams.

humanities building stairs, UPLB, 2007. this is considered the los banos version of UP diliman's AS steps. those windows at the first floor belong to the room where we held english class.

main library, UPLB, 2007. this is the main library of the UPLB campus. the first floor is air conditioned, but most of the serious research and study books are located on the upper floors. there's a nice view of the sunset and forest at the back of this building and the large pillars and recessed windows make private alcoves that are magnet for dating couples and...could you guess?...bible studies.

maria makiling pavilion, UPLB, 2007.

multi-purpose hall, UPLB, 2007. no offence but i forgot what this hall is really called and i used to think of it as just that - a multi purpose hall ( courtesy of my experience as a public school student where all large open hall is called a multi-purpose hall.)

fallen tree, UPLB, 2007. a previous storm must have knocked this tree down but its root system remained intact and it survived the fall.

tree, UPLB, 2007. at the back of the treeline in the background is where you will find the student dorms.

vendors + me + tree, UPLB, 2007. hey, i've just realized that this is the first time i posted a pic with me in it. he,he. this tree is located near the vanguard headquarters. we usually rest under its shade during saturday formations.

college of forestry and natural resources, UPLB, 2007. arch on the road leading to my former college. the bunch of buildings that make up the college of forestry is located some distance away from the main campus grounds.

administration bldg., college of forestry, UPLB, 2007.

forestry information bldg., UPLB, 2007. this building has a library where i spent countless hours reading mystery novels some of which were first printed even before i was born. at right is the road that leads to my dorm.

forestry residence hall ( foreha ), UPLB, 2007. this is where i stayed as a freshman in college. my first room is at the back of the building. but during 2nd sem i got transfered. that's my room window at the second floor at the bend of the driveway. there's an intercom at the hallway, but sometimes the music from our room is so loud that the dorm master calls our attention by throwing pebbles at our window. the first floor rooms on the wing below us is reserved for females. theres a tv in the reception hall where i used to watch MTVs ( karma karma karma chameleon...)

stairs, makiling botanical garden, 2007. made a detour to the makiling botanical garden. had a hard time climbing up these stairs with a load of camera gear. if you could notice in the pic, i was drenched in sweat.

blog work

2007-04-17T20:59:00.000+08:00

condominium buildings, ortigas, 2007 years ago, these lots were concrete parking spaces where student drivers often practice their road skills.

been working on my blogsite after office hours. will try to find the lost picture links in my previous posts.

recovery and a long weekend

2007-04-11T18:28:00.000+08:00

got sick almost the whole month of march. with pneumonia no less. guess i went back to work too early from a bout with flu. seeing blood on my sputum really kept me awake the first few nights. besides, pneumonia also activated a latent mild asthma condition. for almost three weeks i was so weak i can't even draw.

but i'm ok now. went back to alabang several days before the holy week vacation as a sort of physical test drive.

laundry stack, alabang. was not able to go to the laundry during the time i was sick.

the holy week vacation also gave me the chance to visit UP, diliman. and to test drive my new camera.

narra tree near UP sunken garden, 2007. overcast morning, a respite from the usual holy week summer weather.

goal posts, UP sunken garden, 2007. they look kind of dejected without the usual crowd playing on the field.

morning joggers, UP diliman, 2007. as the sun struggled to emerge from the clouds, the people started to arrive.

passing by

2007-02-28T14:46:00.000+08:00

a friend died early this month. i assisted him once during a photo shoot for a local magazine. and we had a number of group shows along with other artists. thanks for all the photo speaks...

whooo-hoo-hooo

2007-02-08T12:11:00.000+08:00

friends from the office invited me to this special screening event. arrived in makati just after 6 o'clock. had fun watching the denizens of makati pass us by on their way home...or a fun night out. well i'm grateful because most of the time, i've been spending a lot of time in front of this:

my office desk, alabang, 2007

blessed new year

2007-01-11T09:13:00.000+08:00

world pyro olympics, 2007.

i've always been amazed at the length men go thru in the pursuit of entertainment. dukes and kings sponsored shakespeare and mozart to write plays and music to entertain them at their parties. sony electronics made it's name by making radios and tv affordable to the masses. audio-visual gadgets abound in the market, with sizes ranging from the small portable mp3 players to the giant lcd screens that's seem to be the new must - have of the 2000's. in fact i work in an industry that caters to the entertainment industry - animation.

so i guess it was no surprise that i find myself overcoming my aversion for heavy traffic and crowds just to watch the 2007 world pyro olympics. unlike last year, we didn't buy tickets that will allow us to watch the fireworks explode almost directly over our head. we just positioned ourselves near the sm mall of asia, and waited for the pyro display. i find it less impressive than last year's, perhaps due to the distance. but i got an inkling why kids and adults alike risk losing their limbs trying to recreate such impressive fireworks display every new year's eve. hey admit it, we don't believe anymore that all those burst of light and noise would drive away demons, right? in the end we just enjoy the sight too much to go without it. well fleeting as it is, am glad to see the look of awe at the faces of the kids that watched the pyro olympics. there will come a time enough that all these kids will grew up and look at all of these as just crowd, heavy traffic and inconvenient lack of parking. but hopefully they will come back and watch...for the sake of their own kids. ( but please, if they're still babies, leave them at home, ok? )

morning light, carmel house, alabang.

leave you with this image taken as i come in early for work.

waking up confused

2006-12-14T20:35:00.000+08:00

the first week of december passed by and i didn't notice it. allowed myself to get caught up in my work that it took a disaster in my parents' province to wake me up from my state of stupor. last time we heard from them, most of my relatives in albay lost their homes. we've been trying to send them medicines but all deliveries to their place are suspended ( they have to travel a good distance just to claim the packages ). it would be a somber Christmas for the people in albay.

sorry. watercolor and ink, 2006. for all the bad news that we received thru the mobile phone.

gift

2006-11-27T21:46:00.000+08:00

afternoon, november 26, 2006.

sometime november

2006-11-15T09:58:00.000+08:00

hope she'll understand my silence. when that is all i can do not to make matters worse than it already is.

yet, every now and then i look at my celphone...

borrowed heaven

2006-11-07T18:50:00.000+08:00

daybreak, alabang-zapote road. taken early sunday morning during one of the numerous times i stayed over saturday night in the office. deserted streets devoid of the usual bumber to bumper traffic. for awhile i thought i was the only human left in the planet. he,he.

on a different matter: i told a friend of mine that i was finally able to start painting again. she's right in a way...i think i've lost sight of the main reason why i paint in the first place. but several minutes after our talk, my celphone beeped...and i got lost again. i yearn for the day when i could look back again at all these and give a wry smile.

farewells

2006-10-20T16:34:00.000+08:00

how do you say goodbye while at the same time try to hide all the regrets for the things that didn't go the way you wanted them to? show remorse for all the moments of silence when a word or two could have made all the difference? and though i still hold the joy in the hope that God gave me, allow me this time to mourn...

dreaming of sundays

2006-09-14T08:30:00.000+08:00

bathroom window, early morning at home

staring at a blank canvas...thinking of things that could have been...cryptic? just need some rest. preferably a whole week of rest far from the city.

i used to laugh at people who introduce themselves with a title in front of their names. attorney so-and-so, judge _______ , architect ______ . i know that they've earned the right to be called those things. but i remember someone telling me as a kid that one shouldn't let a man's job be the measure of what he is. ( maybe i got this advise from my parents when they were trying to pass off my lack of ambition, he,he. )
but for sometime now, i noticed introducing myself with an addendum: i am a 3d artist. or i am an artist. makes me think that without my job, i am nothing. ( hmmm, come to think of it, i am nothing...arrgh ) he,he i grew up to become someone i hate...

going...going...

2006-08-24T13:28:00.000+08:00

it's been awhile... in fact i even considered abandoning this blog due to missing picture links, lack of inspiration and the pressure at work. but since the planned group exhibit for this year didn't push thru, i got this urge to revive this blog, restore the picture links and post new pics and artworks.

office entrance door, early morning.

spending most nights at the office due to deadlines. so much so that i seldom use my apartment bed. thank God i have the foresight to buy myself one of those thin mattresses so that i could sleep in comfort at the office.

the water is wide

2006-05-09T16:43:00.000+08:00

we arrived in bolinao at about 1pm. the beach was worth all the calluses in the ass that we developed riding along bumpy roads. it may take getting used to...it was not like the deserted shores that you would see in albay. there were cottages and stores. we even have to walk some distance from the entrance to avoid the sound of videoke machines. but it was not that crowded. and once you get into the water you'll forget about it all as you enjoy looking at the marine life among the rocks.

the beachfront.

at the back of the beach is this strip of fresh water, with kids playing around the connecting bridge.

low tide exposes the rock covered with sea plants

sanctuary

2006-05-04T12:14:00.000+08:00

most of the 3d people went to pangasinan over the weekend. we rolled off alabang late friday evening and arrived in dagupan about 4am. after some hours of sleep we went to the home of a relative of one of our officemates to ask for direction to the beach in bolinao. the house we went to was surrounded with with bonsai ( which i should have taken a picture of ) and on the top of the garage roof are cages for breeding pet birds.

didn't get to take note of what particular bird specie these are. sorry.

as we wander around the cages i realised that most of the birds are frightened by our presence. you could see them huddled in one corner in this picture.

after lunch adventure(?)
a combination of alcohol addled brain (we suspect), a bicycle and a number of short tempered bystanders postponed our trip to the beach. still, i THANK GOD for the reflexes of our friend who was driving at that time!

the boy in the red shirt is the grandson of the guy we 'bumped'. before i clicked the shutter, all three of them were smilling and having fun.

wheuw!

2006-04-18T13:56:00.000+08:00

took me sometime to figure out why i can't upload my pictures to my image server. something to do with pop ups. and i got my mind set in posting this particular image...

despite my angst-ridden life, i tend to make caricatures that friends call "cute". maybe it's an unconcious attempt to hide or lose myself in my art. oh, and don't think of that observation as something profound. i often think of my art as stomach gas. if i hold it inside, it's painful. to find relief i have to pass it out, yet the only people who will understand and symphatize will be those who have find themselves in similar situation before, he,he. hmmm...at this point i want you to imagine an exhibit of smells...

home

2006-03-24T20:36:00.000+08:00

sorry for the lack of updates. just finished modeling a character at work, and between that and the things i've got to do at home, well i was not able to find time to post.

been thinking a lot of the changes at home. decisions, decisions...

side table, quezon city - reminds me of the 3d mesh that i've been working on.

by the way - i was forced to scale down the drawing in my previous post. it takes too long to load in my computer.

coffee

2006-03-08T14:22:00.000+08:00

coffee girl, watecolor and ink, 2006

it's the start of summer. more often than not, my choice of evening brew tend to be iced tea. the ones you get from jollibee, wendy's or chowking. not those iced tea that comes from vendo machines with carbonated water. and in case you've seen the green iced tea of KFC, don't bother trying it. it doesn't taste that good. at least for me.

and in case anyone of you like chocolate drinks, try cafe xocolat in megamall. this one is more convenient than their first branch which is in greenhills promenade. it's located on the 2nd floor bldg A. near chowking.

cafe xocolat, megamall
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meanwhile in pilar village, alabang...

our apartment got robbed. the robber/s got my friends' money. if you want to know the details and you know my friend lui, ask him yourself. he's better at telling the whole story. the result of all this is that we spent the night and early this morning installing security locks. i was thinking of just putting stickers outside the door and windows saying "this house is protected by time delay locks". you know like those bank vaults. but that's just me. like i said, i'm lazy.

state of what?

2006-02-27T20:19:00.000+08:00

friday night, feb. 24, 2006. enough comments on how crazy politics in this country is. so i'll just share with you this image:

restless night. tiendesitas. south superhighway, on the way home. U2 singing 'silver and gold' on the cd.

even this...

2006-02-23T22:48:00.000+08:00

leyte landslide. i could rage about it as a lesson in forest mismanagement. or an opportunity for more politicking in the part of government officials. or former government officials out to regain public trust. it is heartening to see strangers working together on the search and rescue. but i can't forget about the victims; kids, mothers and sisters, husband and brothers. a whole village of them. yet if all of these things would bring comfort to those left behind then i say let it be.

lost in time

2006-02-17T14:02:00.000+08:00

i welcome the times i spend entertaining myself with the creative works of other people. songs, books, films, paintings, i can't seem to get tired of it. maybe it's because i've got this admiration for people who were able to substantiate their vision unto their respective medium. or then again, maybe i'm just lazy and all willing to lose myself into anything that will excuse me from doing something else.

cinemas, alabang town center

anywhere but in between

2006-02-14T20:11:00.000+08:00

night. decided to take pictures for reference for another art project. went back to the office and downloaded the pics to my computer. should i watch a movie tonight? nah, got a lot of stuff with me that going thru all that security check in the malls make it impractical. decided to update my blog.

hmmm...

hmmm...

hmmmm...

hmmmm...

what can i write about? the things that happened to me at the start of the month that made me realize am back to square one? that is still a raw wound. my trip yesterday down memory lane? arrgh...

exit, folk arts theater.

anyway...happy valentine's day. everyone. really.

friends

2006-02-06T23:09:00.000+08:00

i don't know how long this video will reside on this site before it gets sent to the archives. but try watching it...here. i was struck by what one of the old gents said about old age and living life day by day. and yes, i admit that it won't apply to all circumstances. but it does bear keeping in mind.
__________________________________________________________________

chair, afternoon

a lot of my drawings and pictures have chairs in it as a subject or background element. i often think of it as a representative of people i've encountered. you would have noticed perhaps that people tend to have a particular chair that they sit on when they eat at home, another 'personal' chair for when they are relaxing in their living room. well in my case, when drawing chairs, i often try to think of people that that particular chair reminded me of. it's not a new concept really. van gogh and gauguin have done it before. but i still do it anyway.

allow me

2006-02-02T09:02:00.000+08:00

i've been doing some watercolor drawings lately, and this one was a result of hours listening to the songs of sting. particularly the song "why should i cry for you". its not an accurate indication of what i'm feeling this morning, but i guess it's close enough...

oh no!

2006-01-21T12:59:00.000+08:00

in a rare moment of honest introspection, i realized that i am egocentric. perhaps, it's my way of making up for the fact that no matter how i try to do my best in the creative field, there will still be others that are far better than i am. but no matter how i look at it, i still can't stop myself doing "artworks". i guess i don't know how...
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on a lighter note...

i was able to catch the opening night of my friends' exhibit at the west gallery at west avenue ( it's the first time i've been there since its renovation ). the exhibit takes the book of ecclesiates as viewed by the participating artists.

cynthia alexander at the west gallery - years after i first heard her song "comfort in your strangeness" i still haven't gotten tired listening to it.

aba dalena - doing a live version of "song in the night". hey did i get the title right?

don't ask...

2006-01-20T16:50:00.000+08:00

drawing used to be something that i used to occupy myself while sitting in my aunt's store. now, it's something that is so intertwined with what i am that i can't even bear to think what i would be without it. a friend once told me that i must be tired of all the compliments i receive with regards to my art. i laughed and told her that i paint not because of or regardless of the compliments i receive. it's a bit of a cliche perhaps, but i'm my own exacting critic and once i exhibit my work i don't think of it as the best art out there. it just happens to be the best that i could do at the moment.

am no expert, and if someone ask my opinion about paintings, all i could say 'is i like this' or 'i dont like that' without the ability to provide further explanations. with the absence of the artist to explain his/her work, the only way i could look at a painting will be based on my limited viewpoint.

stupor

2006-01-17T12:40:00.000+08:00

been getting frustrated looking at the blogsites i usually visit because most of them have not been updated for sometime, only to realize that i'm also guilty of that. not that there is nothing happening to me, but a lot of it are personal stuff that i don't know how to share in a blog.

morning shadows, alabang

even my desire to take pictures have suffered lately.

caffeine withdrawal

2006-01-06T16:48:00.000+08:00

i was not able to get my morning caffeine fix in the form of coffee or tea. now am fighting off sleep and the start of a migraine.

office, afternoon

stayed out late last night. decided to go to an internet cafe to access my yahoo mail account. not that i need to send an email (could do that in the office). but i have this desire to read some old correspondence. rats...i'd better stop.

'comfort tunes'

2006-01-05T11:52:00.000+08:00

ever heard about comfort foods? well in my case, its 'comfort tunes'. a set of songs i've gleaned from my files of mp3's that goes way back from imagineasia. wish i have the time to rip some of my favorite cds at home. miss listening to the 'the', particularly their 'soul mining' album. incidentally i spent christmas day listening to their song 'an uncertain smile'.

right now am thinking of making a series of artworks that i will collectively call 'soul cages'. i know, i know...i got that from sting's album. but it's more subtle than '...all the things i can't leave behind' ( U2 )...peace.

insular life auditorium

whew, what a year

2006-01-04T10:02:00.000+08:00

ha! first blog of the year. don't know what 2006 will bring, but i decided to look forward to it with a hopeful attitude. anyway thats a character i share with dreamers...and fools. am not sure what category i fall under, so don't ask me. you would be better off asking my friends. make that my GOOD friends. he,he.

i would not go and write a recap on all the things that happened to me last year. ( a quiet pause here for contemplation ). just want to express an overwhelming gratitude to God, family and friends. i survived 2005! relatively intact in both body and soul.

backyard wall, quezon city.

a long december

2005-12-21T10:37:00.000+08:00

in case the title sounds familiar, well i got it from a song by counting crows. and for those who both know me well and know the lyrics of the song...well you'll have an idea what i'm going thru this joyful time of the year.

constuction in front of market!market!

peace be with you all!

star city

2005-11-30T11:34:00.000+08:00

last friday we arrived at the venue of the musicfest several hours early. had sometime to wander around and take pictures. this one is the display in front of the starcity fairgrounds. this is where i had my first rollercoaster ride years before!

respite

2005-11-24T00:04:00.000+08:00

november. it's the time of the company's annual music fest. so during the middle of the month we got this project that needs to be shown during the event. it's good to be doing animation work again as opposed to doing animation for avatars ( i.e. animated icons ). but its kind of scary too, because you have to continuosly improve or at least maintain your standard in animation. and that's hard considering the caliber of animators i work with. that's why i sometimes hesitate to introduce myself as a 3d animator.ha,ha like they said salvation is free, but your salary, that you have to work for.

it's also a blessing that my sister came home for my exhibit. because with all these things going on, she insists that we accompany her on her 'outings'. that's the reason why last sunday i found myself on the way to villa escudero. i slept most of the time, regaining consciousness just before we get off the south expressway.

church, san pablo, laguna. early morning sunday. on the way to our destination.

the place is okay. it's just that i'm more partial to nature treks, swimming pools or the beach (last time i used my snorkels, i think i was watching the movie 'into the blue'. at home). that's why i spent most of the time before lunch swimming in the pool. the water is cold and since we were there before the crowd, i was the only one using it.

view of the river from the coconut pavillion

rafting pier. there are rafts available for the guests.

since it was sunday, there was a cultural show presentation. and though the sound system is below standard, the talent and enthusiasm of the performers more than make up for it. my dad enjoyed the show and even my sister was moved to comment that the performance was better than the one she'd seen in lincoln center.

dad watching the cultural show.
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on the jeep going to the office this morning, i saw this woman putting on her makeup. she's not just retouching it ( he,he got that word from my female friends ) she's putting on the whole caboodle. cheeks, lips, eyes, they all got her attention, even in the uneven ride of the jeep. i was thinking of waiting for her to finish just to see her transformation after all that layers of paint. ha,ha.

out of the cave

2005-11-15T17:26:00.000+08:00

one thing i realized while working on my paintings for the exhibit is that i tend to shy away from company. oh, i still go to malls and all that but i don't think i would be able to hold a decent conversation. maybe it's because i like to look at the people passing by and wonder about where they've been from, where they're going and all that. or maybe it's the freedom of just deciding where to go without trying to consider what your companions would like to go to or do.

so now that the exhibit opening has passed, i feel like a kid venturing out on the streets again after days of beeing cooped inside the house. have you ever felt that way? remember those moments when you know the storm has passed but you still have no classes. the kids tentatively wandering out of the still wet streets, until after awhile there is this crowd of kids playing 'agawang base' or 'siato'( he,he at least that's what they do during my time ).

it's with this feeling that i found myself buying my new 'toy'. last friday on my way to a meeting, i passed by the megamall branch of columbia photo. they were having a bodega sale there and i saw the point and shoot digital camera that i've been saving up for, going for less than its regular price. i'll write about my impressions on shooting pics in digital later. but i'll end this post with a pic i've taken while trying to learn the ins and outs of my camera. saw this group of old people singing along to the accompaniment of the piano at alabang town center last sunday. unlike my karaoke-singing neighbors in quezon city, these old guys sing in tune. go lolo! go lola!

aftermath

2005-11-10T17:59:00.000+08:00

well it seems that i survived the exhibit opening intact. arrived late. no lights at the gallery because of a downed high tension wire. left my eyeglasses inside the adventure. have to squint at every person who enters the place to see if they were my guests or part of the writers group. met a former teacher from fine arts - "you ought to know how to explain your works". learned a spiritual lesson in all that. but it took me sometime to see it. he,he i'm a stubborn old dog.

under grey skies, 2005

going bananas

2005-10-26T17:07:00.000+08:00

bananas from the vacant lot in front of our house, quezon city

two more weeks before the exhibit. dont know how to deal with the intervening time. arrgh.

on a different track. october 20, 2005. thursday, last week. found myself in a situation i thought will never come true.

thank God for giving me inspiration.

break...

2005-10-12T13:22:00.000+08:00

2350 frames of animation, still have not reached the half way mark...

anyway, i'm giving myself a break. feel the onset of a headache, hope the medicine i took will stave it off.

in my surfing the web i ran across this website of the band stellastarr*. they have some of their songs playing while you browse thru their site and one of the songs - 'lost in time'- is an instant favorite of mine. i also recommend the track 'sweet troubled soul'. reminds me of those freshman years sitting on the main library steps...

U.P. main library, sunday

the bad news is, their cd 'harmonies for the haunted' is not yet available here.

temporay solution

2005-09-30T14:46:00.000+08:00

would you please give me a shout if anybody is having trouble accessing this image post? am trying out the bloggers' image uploading capability.

tired fingers

2005-09-28T16:46:00.000+08:00

this is my 2nd day of making facial shapes for a 3d model. anyone who works in 3d animation would know that it is a time consuming job. got stiff fingers from grasping the mouse too tight. all those points to move and adjust...am grateful for the 'snap to points' button. yet still got stiff fingers. must be old age, he,he.

as for my image hosting problem, well i still haven't found a solution yet. i could change my service provider; there are still lots of companies offering freebies in the internet. but i'm lazy (all those pictures to resize and link to this blog). besides i know that, given some time, those companies would start charging for the server space again and i will be saddled with the same problem all over again.

as i used to scream while playing counterstrike: aaaarrghh!!

all about image

2005-09-26T14:49:00.000+08:00

i started this blog so that i could post pictures and artworks. but my image hosting site is no longer offering free image hosting services and, even though i am willing to pay the subscription fee, it has to be paid thru paypal. and i found out over the weekend that there are no paypal service here in the philippines. somebody told me that one could receive money from paypal thru xoom ( another internet based money tranfer firm ) but i don't know if xoom accept philippine peso to pay to paypal accounts. complicated isn't it?

so that means for the time being, no pics to accompany my blog posts.

kindness continued

2005-09-17T16:07:00.000+08:00

my parents and their friends used to go to tagaytay for 'picnics' ( now that is a word you seldom hear nowadays. 'outing', 'gimik' seems to be more commonly used ). they were still in the dating stage then. in our family photo album, one would encounter sepia toned pictures simply captioned 'picnic grove, tagaytay'. but they won't recognize the present picnic grove today. the covered tables ( for rent! ), the nature walk, the numerous souvenir shops and ( of all things ) the videoke booths. talk about communing with nature with a badly rendered gun's and roses' knocking on heaven's door for background music.

again taal lake seen from our lunch table at leslie's

sunset, picnic grove, tagaytay. knock-knock-knocking on hibenns dooooar. ay-ay-aaiiaaayyy!

the gang by the bridge

we ended the day tired ( and for my part - a bit low on funds, he,he ). but the trip gave us all the break we needed from work. thank GOD, and my fellow adventurers.

kindness part 1

2005-09-13T18:09:00.000+08:00

well it seems that God heard my wish to go somewhere and slack off...by giving us the chance to go to tagaytay. it was raining most of the morning, but on our way to tagaytay we came to a part where the road is bone dry and the weather is clear though cloudy.

view of taal volcano from leslie's restaurant

the first time i went to tagaytay was way back in 1993. and due to budget constraints my friend just parked on the roadside overlooking taal lake. if memory serves me right, it was somewhere near the radar station.

'pastor' carlo laying hands on the view

fellow adventurers

custom job

2005-09-09T17:43:00.000+08:00

notice the changes? with the help of a friend, i was able to change the text title of my blog into an image file. and if you click on the links, it will now open in a new window. nothing major mind you, but i had fun learning something new in html.

aarrrgh

2005-09-06T10:16:00.000+08:00

last night i arranged the paintings i've done along the walls of our apartment. in my desire to finish the whole set, i haven't seen all of it together until last night. it's not all that bad, but i decided to do some changes in tonal value to some of the 'finished' paintings. am also thinking of totally redoing one of it. then again, maybe i'll just let it go as it is. as much as possible, i try to think thru my paintings before hand - the layout, the colors, and such. but i admit that all of these changes during the act of painting. and as much as i enjoy losing myself on the process of coaxing the colors along the canvas, i also need to step back after awhile and ask myself if i am happy with the result.

some weeks ago, a friend ask me if we should pray for the success of my exhibit. i told him sure, please pray for the exhibit. but even up to now ( two months before the event ) i still don't know what it means for an exhibit to be called a 'success'. if 'success' means having all my paintings sold, well, i would rather keep them. hmmm...i guess to enjoy the act of painting and being happy with the result is success enough for me. ha,ha, am not going zen or anything about it. i admit that i also enjoy gathering my friends in one place and showing them my works.

sounds like am rambling on this blog entry. maybe i need a break from the office, spend my time sitting on some coffee shop or park bench and dream...zzzz.

greenbelt park.

imagine

2005-09-05T10:13:00.000+08:00

nope, am not speaking about the song by john lennon. 'imagine' just happens to be one of the names we call our former company - imagineasia inc. saw this picture while i was sorting thru my picture cds yesteday. it was taken at the batangas sea port on our way to puerto galera during our company outing a couple of years ago.

sometime sunshine

2005-08-30T17:43:00.000+08:00

don't know about your place, but there's been some respite from the rains in quezon city over the weekend. last sunday afternoon, i overheard the neighborhood kids talking about a rainbow in the sky. didn't get to see it when i got outside, but the number of kids playing outside, even in the still wet streets, is a testament that they've been cooped up for so long. a bit of sunshine, no school next day ( national heroes day ) and a friend or two to play with - a perfect day for a kid.

well, like i said i didn't get to catch a view of the rainbow. despite my rush to finish my chore, it was gone when i went outside. guess that seems to be the story of my life. i've always been chasing 'rainbows'. my sister once told me to learn how to temper my dreams with reality. and i guess i've learned to do that over the years. BUT there are still dreams that i still strive for, which some people may consider need a miracle ( or a series of miracles ), to achieve or come true. it's the occasional ray of sunlight, a glimpse of the rare rainbow that gives me hope from whatever path my life takes me.

like they said, God is good to fools and little children.

amazing grace

2005-08-26T09:04:00.000+08:00

a month or so ago, i happen to pass by megamall and found my friend carol and her band ( pinikpikan ) performing at the lobby. it's been years since i last saw her. carol bello is a small woman, but once she gets behind the microphone and sing, her voice exudes so much energy and power that you'll only notice her height once she steps off stage.

there was a time when we had bible study at our home. we were sitting just inside our gate and during the closing prayer, a friend started playing the intro of 'amazing grace' on the guitar. carol started singing the melody and the rest of my friends began humming the tune in the background. we got caught up so much on the hymn that when we opened our eyes at the end of the song, we were surprised to find a passerby standing on our gate and clapping his hands. it came about that he was on his way to one of the houses in our neighborhood when he heard carol singing and was compelled to seek where it was coming from. from then on, we have a nickname for carol - amazing grace.

so in case you ever meet her in person, and there is a guitarist near at hand, ask her to sing 'amazing grace' for you. the lyrics, the clean acoustic sound of the guitar strings and the power of carol's voice that evoke equal parts longing and passion will surely blow you away.

formula tech

2005-08-25T15:16:00.000+08:00

i used to assemble plastic model cars by tamiya. there was a time when i spend hard earned money buying car magazines for reference in detailling my models. i can't say that i got good on making models. but i sure wish i found this site. back when i was still into plastic models.

hmmm...then again, i think i still have an unopened box or two of formula1 model kit at home. he,he.

hello...i'm austin powers

2005-08-19T13:18:00.000+08:00

i was at the counter at mcdonald's this morning, waiting for the staff to fill my orders. looked around and saw a familiar face on the line next to mine. smiled at her thinking that i seldom see people from our music dept. outside the office. she smiled back and a beat later i realized...she's a stranger! to cover my embarrassment, i turned back to the counter guy and ordered a lemonade in addition to my order of coffee ( two sugars no creamer ) and sausage mcmuffin. walked away with as much panache as i could muster. hey i'm cool, it was not that bad...at least she smiled...

found myself a table, arranged my breakfast before me. took the cover off my coffee and lemonade. took a sip of my lemonade, the coffee still hot. the girl and her companions arrived and sat on the table diagonally across mine, the girl facing my way. she looked my way, and trying to be cool i held her gaze, opened the packets of sugar with a flourish and promptly dumped the contents...on my lemonade!

rainy days

2005-08-16T11:14:00.000+08:00

like?

2005-08-11T10:58:00.000+08:00

do you like role playing games? do you like reading comics? check out this site. or click the 'order of the stick' on my 'surf sites'.

college

2005-08-11T09:57:00.000+08:00

Palma Hall during UPCAT, afternoon of august 7, 2005.
several hours before, the traffic on this road could be compared to that of edsa.

last sunday, i drove my nephew to UP diliman to take his UPCAT ( U.P. college admission test ). due to my work in alabang, i seldom have the chance to jog there anymore. a fact that my belly fat could attest to. one of the things that strike me during that day is the proliferation of vendors lining the academic oval. the occassion ( at least outside the test rooms ) seems more like a fiesta or fair. i think i even saw a globe or smart telecom booth there, which made me wonder if they allow celphones inside the test rooms. that is something we don't have to consider during the time i took my UPCAT...which was a looong time ago. what stuck to my mind all these years is the fact that my test room was in the second floor of UP integrated school and that the english essay test was taken from an old issue of readers' digest ( karate: weapon of the empty hand...naks ) that i read the day before by chance. aside from that, i don't recollect anything else from that day.

the kiosks in front of the B.A. college and Vinzons hall

3 months to crunch time

2005-08-02T10:53:00.000+08:00

ahhh, i somehow managed to give myself sometime to post a blog after several weeks of silence. it's not that i am no longer busy, in fact if anything, i think i just got more things to do now. we have this 3d modelling exercises in the office and my scheduled one man show is getting nearer.

but i need to take stock of my progress ( or lack of it ) or i might have a breakdown while running in place. lately i've been doing color research for my paintings. i have this tendency to use the same set of colors in a series of paintings that even i myself get bored with it. i've also been making studies for the paintings. i am not lacking in subject matter. but i do need to make it diverse enough to be interesting while at the same time conveying a common underlying thought. ha,ha, am i making sense here? that previous sentence reminds of those exhibit notes that takes three or four paragraphs to clearly explain nothing.

in other news...finally found the courage(?) to join a discipleship group. we usually meet during fridays. i don't know what is in store for me on that front but hey, am glad that i've joined.

in between the pixels

2005-06-03T11:28:00.000+08:00

i've got an eclectic taste in reading materials. many the times i've gone to work with bleary eyes because i spent the whole night reading some books. a lot of the concept and ideas for my art comes from the things i read. and as someone who respect the written word, i often ask myself what i have do to be able to write as well as the people whose works i admire. what pain or sacrifice, what kind of life do i have to live to help me choose words and combine them to form sentences and paragraphs that will not make the reader roll their eyes in disgust.

as a fine arts student ( waaaay back when ), i have my share of free time spent reading the graffiti in the college walls. drawings and prose, with anger, angst, and love as the usual topic, could be found on those walls. evidence that the font of creativity - as my lit teacher once said - are often based on the pursuit of/musings about love, life, sex and death.

and if you're wondering what brought about this rumination, it is because, in my search for reading material in the internet, i came along this site countingyellowcars.com. mind you, the content is far better than the graffiti in our college walls. it just also happen that the webmaster is also a ( recent ) graduate of UPCFA. i asked and got her permission to link her site ( see side bar ).

tree, madrigal park saw this scene as i walk tired and hungry from boxing gym.

sci+fi

2005-05-25T13:52:00.000+08:00

pictures from the sci-fi convention, glorietta:

glorietta activity center, testing my new ( or should i say used? ) 18mm lens.

giving darth vader a hand. the marshalls allowed me to stay near the stage. perhaps they thought i'm part of the official photo coverage. he,he.

storm trooper interview:

interviewer: how do you feel right now? being a part of this convention?

storm trooper: well...i feel hot.

interviewer: oh so your costume is not well ventilated...

storm trooper: no, i mean, i feel hot because you're standing close to me and i could smell your perfume thru my visor.

he,he.
they didn't really say that. but i guess that is what i would have felt if i was the storm trooper, he,he.

and lastly:

yoda: old i feel. old i look. because of jedis like this klutz.

quiapo

2005-05-25T11:42:00.000+08:00

went to quiapo monday morning to buy the second hand lens that i saw in one of its camerashops the other week. i got hooked by its focal length ( 18mm!! wide angle! wow! ) and price. the owner was kind enough to give me a discount ( hey, the lens needs to be cleaned, and i still need to buy a skylight filter for it - a large 86mm ). despite the heat, i enjoyed walking the length of r. hidalgo street looking at the old and new stuff that the camera shops have to offer. some good cameras ( F2 nikons-those rugged cameras that documented the vietnam war ) are going for cheap. just hope nobody in those shops read this blog or they might jack up the price. for those people who still shoot on film, this place is a gold mine. but since i'm on a limited budget, i have to content myself by just looking.

r. hidalgo with its food ( my dad says the pancit is good )and vegetables stalls, was a welcome change from the somewhat sterile(?) environment of the office. there was a time when the stalls only occupy one side of the street. now you have to weave thru the stalls to find the doors of the shops (a parked honda city was virtually covered with clothes). this will expose you to the back of those said stalls - the vendors eating their packed lunch, the small kids sleeping on wooden planks, some old men playing chess and - cards. i would have liked to catch them on film but i guess i lack the time to establish rapport so the only image i got is this one:

rice my lord vader

2005-05-13T10:12:00.000+08:00

a few more days and the last installment of the star wars movies will be showing on theaters. for all star wars fan out there, who likes to delve into the mind of its characters, check out The Darth Side:Memoirs of a Monster. you may find it a good read in anticipation of the show date.

caged

2005-05-04T14:24:00.000+08:00

one thing about working in a computer environment is that it makes me feel isolated from nature. our office is kept at a certain temperature and the lights are turned on or off depending on its effect on the glare of our monitor. the heat of the noon day sun often surprise me when we go out for lunch, and i have to remind myself that it's already mid-summer.

patience

2005-04-28T16:26:00.000+08:00

after sitting alone for sometime...

pantry sink

2005-04-27T16:39:00.000+08:00

reminds me of the pale fountain's song 'kitchen sink drama'.

this is the second floor office pantry. no microwave, no fridge. 30+ employees, with the 3d dept. usually staying overnight. if you want hot ( or warm ) food, you have to go out of the building.

local guggenheim

2005-04-25T15:49:00.000+08:00

this is the philippine version of the guggenheim museum. care to guess where and what it is?

old soldiers never die...

2005-04-11T14:26:00.000+08:00

i saw this article while reading daily inquirer online today. maybe it is the reason why my dad's pension checks are often weeks, or even months, delayed. i commend PCIJ in bringing this issue to the public.

my dad is a retired army serviceman. back in high school, i often accompany him during his monthly trip to camp aguinaldo to get his pension check. i've seen the long line of retired soldiers, some of them already in wheelchairs, waiting for their name to be called thru a loudspeaker, whose dubious quality distorts the sound coming out of it, making it incomprehensible even to my (then) young ears. it is thru my dad's gift of tongue ( he could and often pass as a native of several provinces ) and voluble nature that i often have a glimpse of their struggles in life, whether its financial woes - the medical bills, the jobless sons or daughters whose family they have to support, or emotional - the pain of losing a wife or a husband, the ever dwindling group of friends and acquaintances. sprinkled here and there are the news of their simple joys - who went abroad, whose son or daughter was able to graduate in college, who was able to buy their own house and lot. and i've seen their stories etched in the lines of their faces, the gap-toothed smiles, the clouded eyes.

my dad is not a war veteran, and most of his friends may not have ever fired their rifles in war. but i hope that the case between the war veterans and veterans bank will not go the way of the coconut farmers and the coconut levy fund. i hope that this will not just fade away from the collective ire of the people.

holy week, 2005

2005-03-30T16:33:00.000+08:00

"everday is like sunday,
everyday is silent and grey"
-morrisey, everyday is like sunday

wednesday night, alabang

one good thing with being alone is that i could work without distraction. no tv, no radio or cd. all the novels and magazines i bought lying on the apartment floor, read and done with. i was able to finish a painting in time to take it home during the long weekend.

an acquaintance once asked me before if the reason why i don't have a girlfriend is because i look at it as a 'distraction'. and i could only laugh and say 'no'. i could not think of anything better than improving your relationships, whether with your parents, family, friends or God. but then how can i explain this in words without sounding like a hypocritical sage? even writing about it in this blog gives me the urge to roll up my eyes. leave me to my periods of solitude. regardless if anyone notice the difference, it makes me a better person.

good friday

ever heard the song 'everyday is like sunday'? well that song comes to mind whenever i spend maundy thursday and good friday at home. i could swear that, during those days, i ( and the whole household ) move in bullet time ( the slow motion effects in matrix - for the rest of the people who doesnt know that they actually named that effect ) but i admit all those inactivity allowed me to think about a lot of things. not least of them is my decision to take steps in having my own solo exhibit...

toilets

2005-03-09T11:45:00.000+08:00

public toilets, bus stop, north ave. cor. edsa

at first glance, i thought the one in the middle is for the 'third sex'. it was only on closer look that i was able to read the sign at the top of the door.

paranoia

2005-03-08T16:37:00.000+08:00

one thing i hate about the 'war on terror' that the government is bandying about is that it has turned the country into a virtual police state without the benefit of a formal declaration of martial law. conrado de quiros discussed this mindset on his column there's the rub on the march 8, 2005 issue of the philippine daily inquirer. this is the kind of paranoia that makes journalism one of the most hazardous jobs in this country.

i myself experienced this paranoia firsthand while taking pictures inside the mrt:

stranger: ( looking at the camera on my neck ) boy(duh), are you thinking of taking some pictures here?

jb: yes, si...

stranger: well you can't do that. it's against the law.

jb: but am not taking pictures of the mrt by itself. my focus is also on the view outside the window.

stranger: no, sir. sorry, sir. am a security officer employed here in mrt. ( bringing out an official looking id from his bag. he was wearing casual clothes. he turned to his companion and murmured. i caught the word 'sabotage' during the exchange. )

jb: but, sir. this is a camera. not a bomb.

stranger: no, sir. it's the law.

jb: they actually turned THAT into a LAW? ( and since it's already near my stop and i don't have time to discuss the intricacies of the first amendment and the philippine constitution, i let it go at that.)

( it's cowardly of me to let it go like that. but it was a sunday and i was eager to go home, he,he. )

one only has to look at these images to see how the camera could show us what the 'war on terror' really meant.

fifteen years ago

2005-03-04T18:14:00.000+08:00

11 o'clock PM, greenbelt park grounds, 3 college friends

...i wonder what job we will get once we graduate?...why not start our own design studio?
...hey, are you serious with that band?...nope, just want to jam once in a while...
...remember ( name of girl )? what ever happened to her, bok? someday we will be able to afford hanging out at tia maria's...hey howbout eating out once a month at that pizza place in west avenue?...

renovated greenbelt park

closed gate

2005-03-04T18:09:00.000+08:00

taken during one of those nights when i got home late.

shibumi

2005-03-01T10:33:00.000+08:00

looking at my small room, i realised how little i need, in terms of material things, to live. yep, i got the smallest of the four rooms available ( by choice ) and it is less well appointed than the one i was used to. i think i'm in the process of learning that my happiness isn't connected to the ratio of the things i have or don't have. don't get me wrong here, am living above poverty level in this country and i haven't gone to the extent of giving my possesions away. but i could still remember the things i thought i could not live without as a kid. toys,tv...guess i have to thank my parents for teaching us kids to make do with the things we have...and working hard ( and honorably ) for the things we want.

neon, feb 28, 2005 - digital camera courtesy of louie

apart-ment

2005-02-22T09:12:00.000+08:00

last sunday night, i moved to my ( i share it with 3 other co-workers, so i guess i should call it 'our' apartment. but that somewhat reminds me of a conjugal property, so i'll stick with 'my' ) apartment. work on the insect screen was still ongoing so i opted to stay for the time being on one of the room upstairs. it was tiring cleaning up the room, in addition to the fact that i spent the afternoon driving from our home in quezon city to alabang, and back - moving stuff. and once i got to bed, it was heavenly - for the mosquitos. i think they have this messaging network to tell them where fresh blood could be had. so i spent the night covered in blanket ( something i seldom do ). morning came and i woke up to the sound of...birds? yep, birds. a welcome difference to the sound of tricycle motors that often wake me up back in quezon city. but the restless night took its toll and i spent the whole day fighting off drowsiness.

last night, monday. the screen finally got installed. spent sometime, cleaning my own room and moving stuff from upstairs. i still need an extra plastic box, and i should really need to install window blinds...zzzzz

living room curtains, morning, quezon city

my first blog of the year

2005-02-07T13:17:00.000+08:00

work sure do get in the way of blogging. don't get me wrong, am thankful that i have a regular work. but i'm like those old computers - not good at multi-tasking. so that's why it's been awhile since i posted anything here.

ever since as a kid, i've looked at going to the beach as something you enjoy with family or friends. our parents used to take us for a swim in manila bay ( it was still clean at that time ) near baclaran every summer. going to the province is not complete without a day or two spent swimming or just eating ( he,he) on the sea shore.

but the landslides in quezon ( a province we have to pass by on our way to bicol )and the tsunami that struck the nations around the indian ocean last december 26, 2004 brings home the fact that nature could also be a destructive force. something we, who earns a living inside an office room, often forget.

that's why i also look on those days i didn't post a blog as a time of silence for the souls of the victims of these tragedies...and those who survived them.

saturday afternoon, bohol

inbetween storms

2004-12-08T10:49:00.000+08:00

zambales, facing china sea, the booming surf could throw you off your feet

fan and dashboard of a jeep taken on my way to work.

soundtrack

2004-11-22T16:42:00.000+08:00

friday:

sometimes i feel that i live my life set to a song...last friday, the song is from the smiths - "bigmouth strikes again".

magallanes bus stop

distance between

2004-11-11T21:45:00.000+08:00

received an e-mail from a friend who is now working in tanay. THANK GOD for e-mails!

----
our subdivision was covered in smog as i was walking home. it was not that thick, just enough to be noticeable. i wonder when will car manufacturers be able to make a practical, environment-friendly alternative to the combustion engine. will it be powered by hydrogen or electricity?

the road at the back of pldt, makati.

night...

2004-11-04T16:42:00.000+08:00

due to the closure of some of the gates in our subdivision, i am forced to take the long way home everytime i go past the alloted time of 9pm. this could be cause for gripping especially when you're tired ( or if you need to go to the toilet, he,he ).

but most of the time i welcome this added walking distance as a sort of buffer. a time to shed the worries and pressures of work in exchange for my responsibilities as a son, brother, uncle and friend.

years ago, a man i have great respect for, taught us a definition for the phrase "work for a living" that i have tried to adapt to my work attitude. am not sure if i have succeeded. but, hey, i need to hope that the god of failures would eventually get tired of seeing me. right?

---
the fx taxi that i rode home last night was playing one of my favorite indigo girls' tune. and one of the phrases in the song got stuck on my mind the whole night...if i could reap the praise of strangers but end up on my own...all my life is for a song...but maybe i was wrong.

breakfast at...

2004-10-26T13:27:00.000+08:00

sometime ago, the company required us to be at the alabang office at 7 AM for a team building seminar. for me, who hails all the way from novaliches, that would mean waking up at 3AM. luckily, i kind of overestimated the travel time and i end up arriving at alabang junction at 4:45 AM. to pass the time i waited for the local jollibee branch to open at 5 and had my breakfast there.

as i leisurely ate my breakfast and watch the lightening sky, a touch of nostalgia came over me as i recalled the number of times i had breakfast at the jollibee branch of maxilom avenue back when i was working in cebu. i don't know what's the case here in metro manila, but, in cebu, i was surprised that a lot of people patronize jollibee for breakfast. and it's not just office workers but whole families, with the parents wearing their office uniforms and their kids on their school duds. made me wonder if the notion of a family eating breakfast together AT HOME is still valid.

maxilom avenue, cebu seen from the pedestrian bridgeway.
on my first day in cebu, i walked the whole length of this avenue looking for a ride back to my hotel.

continuation...

2004-10-26T09:22:00.000+08:00

found out that my friend tom finally got his act together and was able to continue his blogs, albeit on a different blogname. anyone interested may access his blog under 'friends' on the side of this blog.

one other friend just caught the blogging fever. welcome ron. i guess he started blogging as a kind of release valve to the pressures brought in by work ( and people, and articles in magazines and...the list i think is endless, he,he ). kidding aside, i'm glad there's another blogsite i could visit in case i got tired working.

oh, before i forget. enzo also built his own blogs. i'll link his blogsite later on.
and in case he visit this maybe he'll remember this pic:

church seen through a belfry window, bohol,2003

guilty

2004-10-25T14:20:00.000+08:00

a friend came by my workstation this morning and accused me of not updating my blogs. what with all that has been happening this past several weeks, well, i stand guilty of the charge.

our office has moved to its very own building. its just a block or two away from common goal towers ( our original location ) but, without the gazebo and proximity to ayala town center, it seems a world apart.

the building we transfered to still has no elevators. that's ok since our department is in the second floor. but with all the construction and drilling noise going on, we can't really concentrate on our jobs.

what's new

2004-09-22T14:48:00.000+08:00

been tweaking my blogs lately. notice anything new on my site? yep, i now have a list of 'friend' ( only one, he,he ) and some sites that i usualy visit in the sidebar of my blogs...wish i could do more, but when it comes to html, the only thing am good at is cut and paste.

late

2004-09-11T13:57:00.000+08:00

i wonder when will the philippines have a public transport system that runs on a given time schedule? it seems i got the award for being late the whole week.

punch...

2004-09-11T13:30:00.000+08:00

sometime ago we had a visit from an aunt who usually tease me about my carefree life:

aunt: hey, your parents are getting along on years, when will you introduce to
them the girl that you'll marry?

me : well i already asked the girl, but her family doesn't want us to get married.

aunt: why not? you have a good job, you're not a pauper. do you want my support in asking her family to agree to the marriage? i'll talk to them. who doesn't want you to get married? her parents? her brothers and sisters?

me : he,he...it's her husband. he,he.

aunt: !@#$%^&*()

nephew : het tita, be glad it's NOT her husband AND 20 year old SON/DAUGHTER

he,he sometimes you are given situations wherein you can't resist using those punchlines

afternoon

2004-09-06T13:31:00.000+08:00

been looking at my collection of photographs and i realized that i have an affinity for taking pictures from the top of buildings. maybe its a drawback from childhood when i realized that the neighborhood looks (better, he,he) different when seen from the top of our guava tree.

chairs

2004-08-24T13:21:00.000+08:00

loser?

2004-08-23T18:58:00.000+08:00

several months ago, i turned down an opportunity to travel to sagada and to take photographs for an article about a certain tribal ritual. a week later after that, i again turned down an offer to accompany my friend to siargao, and take pictures for her story. wasted opprotunity, right?

well i hope that the time i've spent experimenting on my own techniques and camera exposures will more than make up for it.

mirror, mirror...

2004-08-18T13:05:00.000+08:00

it's been a while...i've been busy working on one of our 3d characters. gets so tired that when i get home and see my bed, sleep is the only thing i can think of.

last night my nephew shared his insight on current local events:

nephew: hey tito joey, do you know why a lot of catholic priests are getting tagged for sex scandals and fathering children?

me: ( tired ) hmmm...?

nephew: ...well it's because as a kid most of them have religion classes at school...

me: ( still tired ) uhhmmm....so?

nephew: they were taught to sing the rhyme " father abraham has seven children, seven children, has father abraham..."

me: ha,ha,ha

after several minutes laughing

nephew: you know tito joey, maybe you would be better off as a priest. all those women...

me: ( choking sounds )

log in

2004-08-12T09:17:00.000+08:00

i've been having difficulties logging in to my blog account. there's a prompt that says 'session expired' whenever i log in. that's why i'am pleasantly surprised when i was able to log in this morning.

spent most of last night resizing photos for my blogs. and i had a chat with my niece and sister too. even fell asleep with the computer on.

took these pics from the 8th floor gazebo of our office building about 2 weeks ago. on a really clear day, you could see the cordillera mountain ranges ( mt. banahaw ) and mt. makiling in the distance. the blue colored hills you see in the background are the foothills of cordillera that makes up the antipolo and laguna high lands

child at play

2004-08-09T18:34:00.000+08:00

took this picture of a kid playing in the sand at bohol. reminds me of those carefree days back when i was a kid.

kitchen window

2004-07-30T13:22:00.000+08:00

sometimes i take shots of anything just to finish off the loaded film in my camera. and the resulting images often surprise me.

blue slippers

2004-07-29T18:47:00.000+08:00

celebrating the morning sun after several weeks of overcast skies

cloud pillar

2004-07-28T10:23:00.000+08:00

got distracted by this sight while shooting pictures of rockbato on top of the roof.

pakil, laguna

2004-07-26T12:36:00.000+08:00

we don't have any telephone service at home again. hence, i was not able to update my blogs this weekend.

a friend of mine celebrated her birthday 2 sundays ago. prior commitments prevented me from attending her birthday bash. wish i was able to pass by and tease her when she will invite us again to her father's home town of pakil, laguna, he,he.

the first time we went to pakil in 1993 is something that i will cherish the rest of my life. it was the kind of outing where in i was totally at ease. a vacation where you don't think about the things you have to do once you're back in the city. i was young, free and single and with a stable job as an in-betweener at filcartoons. we went canoeing at laguna de bay and even took a dip on the muddy waters. and we did climb the trail going up the hills just outside the town.

now, i may be free and single but i'm not that young anymore. i doubt if i could climb that trail as easily as i did way back then. too bad that i lost the B&W negatives of the pictures i took during that time.

wordsmith

2004-07-17T14:45:00.000+08:00

i am fond of reading. and i admire people who could weave words into a coherent image that would keep a reader thirsty for more.

when gabriel garcia marquez retired from public life, he wrote the following:

If for an instant God were to forget that I am a rag
doll and gifted me with a piece of life,
possibly I wouldn't say all that I think,
but rather I would think of all that I say.
I would value things, not for their worth
but for what they mean.
I would sleep little, dream more,
understanding that for each minute
we close our eyes we lose sixty seconds of light.

I would listen when others talk,
and how I would enjoy a good chocolate ice cream!
If God were to give me a piece of life,
I would dress simply,
throw myself face first into the sun,
baring not only my body but also my soul.
My God, if I had a heart,
I would write my hate on ice,
and wait for the sun to show.
Over the stars I would paint with a Van Gogh
dream a Benedetti poem,
and a Serrat song would be
the serenade I'd offer to the moon.
With my tears I would water roses,
to feel the pain of their thorns,
and the red kiss of their petals...

My god, if I had a piece of life...
I wouldn't let a single day pass
without telling the people I love
that I love them.
I would convince each woman
and each man that they are my favorites,
and I would live in love with love.
I would show men how very wrong they are
to think that they cease to be in love
when they grow old,
not knowing that they grow old
when they cease to be in love!
To a child I shall give wings,
but I shall let him learn to fly on his own.
I would teach the old that death
does not come with old age,
but with forgetting.

So much have I learned from you, oh men...

I have learned that everyone wants to live
on the peak of the mountain,
without knowing that real happiness is in how it is scaled.
I have learned that when a newborn child squeezes
for the first time with his tiny fist his father's finger,
he has him trapped forever.
I have learned that a man
has the right to look down on another
only when he has to help the other get to his feet.
From you I have learned so many things,
but in truth they won't be of much use,
for when I keep them within this suitcase,
unhappily shall I be dying.

GABRIEL GARCIA MARQUEZ

regrets

2004-07-17T14:04:00.000+08:00

one of the disadvantages of shooting with an old style film camera, is that you can't encode date or notes on the pictures that you've taken. and sometimes the image jumps on you so quickly that you don't have time to write down the technical stuff ( f/stops, shutterspeed ) or even the name of the place where you took the picture.

church hallway, bohol